Illusory
by D. A. Nico
Summary: After being rescued from the twisted, psychological experiment that is Kabuto's mind Sakura believes everything to be fine. But when illusions and reality start to mold together she discovers it's getting more and more difficult to tell fantasy from her everyday life. With Kabuto on her tail and a handful of friends ready to help Sakura must find the antidote before it's to late.
1. Illusory

**Illusory**  
Chapter1: Illusory  
_D.A. Nico_

"You're cheating! Sakura he's cheating!"

"I'm not cheating dobe, you're just a moron."

An audible almost animalistic whine emitted from between Naruto's lips, Sakura could see his arms flailing helpless in her peripheral vision, she could feel his eyes boring into her forehead expectantly. Deciding to patiently finish the paragraph she'd reread three times now she soaked in the small amount of research before thumbing the corner of the page and finally glancing at her two teammates.

Naruto sat hunched over pouting in her direction, hoping in some sort of way that she could referee his way out of this obvious loss. His lip jutted a little bit further, a defeated sag in his shoulders and brow crinkling towards his nose was an almost comical sight at Sakura glanced between them again. Classic yin to his yang there sat Sasuke, sitting upright and proud just like his formal family upbringing had trained into him, double checking the Shoji board to confirm his win. After a millisecond he turned to stare smugly at Naruto and patiently started to replace the pieces to restart another game.

"I'm sorry Naruto but I really wasn't paying attention. However... I am hoping that the Great and Noble Uchiha Sasuke would never cheat on a board game." She drawled.

"Never," Sasuke returned simply.

Sakura raised a suspicious eyebrow and then returned to reading the extremely advanced medical textbook that lay daunting in her lap.

"I'm not playing again, I can't think when I'm hungry." Naruto barked out as he shoved the corner of the Shoji board to rattle the pieces around. As if on a trained cue his stomach rumbled out an ungodly loud gurgling noise.

"Seriously," Sakura sighed before admitting defeat and shutting the book. She knew all to well that once Naruto became hungry, bored or any other general thought that isn't sleep no one got any peace until he was appeased. "You ate like an hour ago when we first got here."

"Yeah... an hour ago and it was a small bowl!" He exclaimed in return.

Rolling her eyes she glanced towards the hotel's clock, "I suppose we could get some food, it's basically dinner time."

Naruto leapt to his feet victoriously, "I saw a food stand when we came into the city, let's got there."

Sakura stood as well, "Leave Kakashi-sensei a note then so he knows where to find us once he drops off the ambassador."

In a flurry of movement all three of them set towards the goal of getting ready. Going to the bathroom, writing the note, changing into cleaner clothing, finding shoes that had been discarded and putting all the Shoji pieces back in the box.

Sakura packed her book back into her pack carefully. They'd been traveling slowly for nearly a week now to return a very shy ambassador back to her home in a small city just north of the much larger Iwagakure. She'd been the picture perfect mission; hard working, easygoing and for the most part politely quiet. The journey itself had gone as smooth as possible, no rogue bandits to put a thorn in her side, no spiteful shinobi from neighboring countries, not even a feral animal to scare off. Though she wasn't complaining about the lack of danger Sakura would openly admit that even she had grown a little bored on this escort mission. Thankfully they were spending the night here and then were headed out, at a much quicker pace, to return home.

"Let's go already!" The King of impatience rang out already halfway out the door to their shared room.

Sakura slid her shoes on quickly before following after, giving Sasuke a quick and appreciative nod as he waited for her to pass through the door before sliding it shut and locking it behind all three of them.

The walk to the food stand was only a couple blocks. The city folk were welcoming and openly appreciative. When they'd first arrived it had been obvious that they adored and cherished their ambassador which wasn't surprising since she was likely the open link between her cities thriving existence and the politics of the rest of the country.

"Do you think they'll have Ramen here?" Naruto questioned, leading the way.

"I'm sure if it isn't specifically Ramen they'll have a noodle dish of some kind." Sakura answered back simply her eyes trailing through the city street watching the people go about their business. A sudden warmth in her hand made a smile tug at the corner of her lips, she didn't need to look down to know that Sasuke had unnoticeably and smoothly slid his hand into hers as he closed the distance between them.

As they arrived a familiar silver head popped up from across the large square bar. His hand rose in a single wave as a smile crinkled at the corner of his one visible eye, "Yo!"

Naruto sputtered out a noise, "Not even an invite Kaka-sensei?!" he cried out feigning a heartbroken demeanor.

"I thought you would have all eaten when we first got here while I was tying up all the loose ends."

They all took a seat next to him at the bar, put their food order in and settled into enjoying the evening amongst family.

* * *

"Okay you two, straight to bed so hopefully you can at least get a couple hours before we're on the rode..." Sakura drawled and hitched Naruto's arm a little higher around her shoulder, supporting what she was positive was his full weight. She knew behind her that Sasuke was mirroring her exact predicament with Kakashi's almost catatonic form.

"S'ok Saku... I'm fine!" Naruto rumbled, his nose pressing against the bottom of her ear as she shuffled him over to his pallet on the floor. A hand shot out grabbing the collar of Naruto's shirt and accelerated him to lie down.

"Sas...kay... I wasn't doin' thing!" Naruto groaned already half asleep and instinctively stripping his shirt off for comfort.

"Hn, nose to yourself." Sasuke seemed to reiterate even though they were both aware Naruto would never remember the threat in the morning.

Sakura smiled affectionately at the blonde haired boy splayed across the ground, a snore emitting from his open mouth. She turned to throw a blanket over their less then graceful sensei before turning the light to the room off. Somehow in the midst of deciding sleeping arrangements she and Kakashi had lucked out with the two beds in the hotel room while the boys got homemade pallets on the ground.

Twenty minutes after falling into her own temporary bed she heard the floor creek. Predictably the mattress behind her sank indicating Sasuke had decided to abandon his own pallet to share the comfier bed with her. The added warmth of the second blanket he'd drug with him was comforting as well. Settling down a little further into her pillow she sighed out loud and drifted off to sleep, her last conscious thought was of Sasuke's arm wrapping around her waist and dragging her back tightly against his chest, his breath hot against the back of her neck.

* * *

Sakura wasn't sure she could ever have imagined a more beautiful day to travel on. They'd made absolutely amazing time. The sky was blue, with a dappling of enough clouds to blot out the sun when the temperature of Sakura's skin was getting a little to hot and the occasional light breeze drifted through to top off the idealistic climate. They'd set out early that morning to the chorus of hungover complaints from the obvious two on the team of four. Sakura still smirked listening to their listless cries for medical help.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto huffed out for the fifth time, "Please, can't you just make this go away?"

"I could, but then how would you learn your lesson about drinking on the job?" She asked back.

"We were done with the job, celebrating our success." Kakashi inputed.

"The mission isn't over until the Hokage gets that scroll of completion. Shame on you Kakashi, I would have expected better." Sakura chastised with an obvious playful tilt to her hypothetical finger wagging.

Before anyone could reply a shockingly familiar sound of metal zipping by her ear registered in her head. The adrenaline that automatically spiked through her system made her hyper sensitive to the sting of the cut on her arm. Sasuke immediately flipped around to place his back against hers and even hungover Kakashi and Naruto were moving quickly to take up a defensive position.

"Are you alright Sakura-chan?" Naruto called over.

She nodded an affirmative, "Yeah, just a small nick." She muttered and let her eyes travel down to her arm to make sure there wasn't anything too damaged. She wasn't prepared to see the very deep gash across her bicep, but what unsettled her even more was that the wound itself was completely dry, no blood was seeping from between the split skin.

Reacting immediately she grabbed at it with her other hand and let out a shocked sound. The cut was deep, through the muscle tissue and probably only a short distance from the actual bone. Scientifically there was no logical answer for why she shouldn't be covered in red by now.

"Sakura what's wrong, are you sure you're alright?" Naruto asked running over to her, a look of worry in his cerulean eyes.

Sakura held up her left hand as if to show him the lack of blood but he didn't seem to catch on, he just gave her a confused look. She opened her mouth to say something to him but not a sound came out, like her vocal cords had never been trained to make noise, her body rejecting something that usually came so natural. She retracted her hand and rubbed at the base of her neck, panic quickly setting in. She double checked her wound before turning to Sasuke, she watched his lips move but absolutely no sound came out. Eyebrows drawing together she spun back around to face Naruto again, his voice was coming back to her as a muffled noise, as if she were trying to listen to him from underwater.

Placing both of her hands against either side of her head she shook it as the world around her started to change from color to black and white and the edges of every object and person around her started to blur out. She didn't feel dizzy and the three boys on her team were starting to go about their business as if they didn't even notice her freaking out. Falling to her knees in an act of confusion she desperately tried to open her mouth and make any sort of noise possible but only silence was her answer. Clenching her eyes closed as tight as she could she leaned forward almost to the point where her nose was touching the dirt and she took a couple deep breathes before leaning back up and opening her eyes.

"Ah Sakura, so nice of you to finally join me... again."

Sakura jolted as the scene she'd just been apart of was completely gone to be replaced by an all to familiar and heartbreaking one. The incessant and annoying sound of dripping water somewhere behind her was becoming a constant against her nerve endings. The familiar feeling of rough wooden boards against her skin pinched uncomfortably and yet reassured her that for once she was back in reality. She was tilted upright but all four of her appendages were anchored to the makeshift gurney, a similar belt clasped firmly around her waist.

The cave she was letting her eyes adjust to was becoming less and less appealing every time she looked around at it. This particular room was a decently large cavern, but she was almost positive from past observations that it was branched off from another portion. There were temporary chakra lanterns strung up randomly but most of the light centered around one corner of the room where a dirty laboratory setting sat ominously.

"Still having trouble figuring out what's real and what's an illusion?"

The voice came from her left and she turned her eyes, squinting more out of irritation then lack of sight at the grey haired man smiling back at her. His glasses were cracked from the last time he'd gotten to close to her and she'd managed to viciously head butt him, it did however look like he'd healed his black eye and broken nose.

"Screw you Kabuto," she snarled back.

"Oh Sakura, the attitude is starting to get old!" Kabuto huffed out and walked in front of her, "If you just agreed to help I wouldn't have to put you through all of this." He gestured to her current immovable situation. "It's been weeks, you really are stubborn!"

Glaring right at him she strained forward quickly against her restraints and to her satisfaction Kabuto flinched backward. To rub his sissiness in a little deeper she smirked mockingly at him, "You already know the answer. There's no way in Hell I'm helping you with anything." She would never openly admit that Kabuto's supposed form of torture was a bit different but it was thoroughly mentally exhausting. Between bouncing from actual memories, to man-made Kabuto illusions and then back to this terrible reality she was starting to lose control of what was actually real and what wasn't.

"Such a bummer that you want this to be the hard way, you'd be such an asset if you were more willing..." the dark medic turned on his heel and slowly shuffled off towards the work station. She watched him rummage around before extracting a large syringe from the pile of tools, "I could make you so powerful... with the right servitude of course."

Sakura rolled her eyes thinking that she could probably mouth off every single word that the man was saying since it was becoming a repetitive spiel. Her eyes traveled down towards the shackle holding her right wrist down and she tugged at it. Whatever Kabuto had been injecting her with during her delirious moments was draining her chakra.

"Anyways, eventually I'm sure you won't know the difference between helping Sasuke-kun in a dream and helping me in reality so it won't be a problem." He purred out finally.

Sakura looked towards him confusedly and she watched him fill the syringe with the very familiar looking liquid. She was sure the concoction had more of a gelatinous texture to it by the gauge of the needle he had been using. Her only saving grace was that the glass container that housed the mixture was now only half full.

Moving towards her with a sinister grin across his features she could feel nausea wrack her stomach and her body involuntarily shirking away from him and the large needle. The color of the liquid seemed to be a glowing beacon in the darkness, and she definitely wasn't exaggerating when she thought of it as glowing. It was a bright, but deep pink that seemed to be emitting a toxic radiance that had lime green edges to it. She knew mentally it seemed like a strange color but at this point she wouldn't put anything past this twisted man. She just couldn't muddle through her brain for any known poison, serum or drug that could possibly make that color.

Reaching forward with his free hand he let his thumb trail her jawline, "Let's take a bet on whether or not this is a dream or illusion shall we?"

Sakura yanked her head away from his touch, her skin immediately crawling at the idea that he even laid one finger on her. Instead of answering him she bit her lip and turned her gaze away. The only answer she received in return was a small laugh and the bite against her skin that told her he'd inserted the needle into the side of neck. It was by sheer stubbornness that she'd managed not to flinch or make one single noise at the injection.

His back was the last thing she saw of him before he disappeared between an archway in the far corner. She knew she had exactly five minutes before her consciousness literally switched over to whatever was about to come and she also knew there was absolutely no way she could prepare or forewarn herself about the coming process. Shifting uneasily she had nothing to do but sit helplessly while the white hot burning sensation of the drug started to kick in and travel along her circulatory system and chakra lines.


	2. Chimera

**Illusory  
**Chapter2: Chimera  
_D. A. Nico_

She could hear his lips flapping together in what could probably be man kinds number one pet peeve, food smacking. Kabuto had trundled in here about ten minutes ago and hadn't uttered a single word to her, so in doing so she decided it would be best to return the favor. Now she was wondering if he was just blatantly rude at the table or if he was trying to push her buttons. As she continued to debate the scientist's table manners her mind reeled towards the food in front of him and all of a sudden her stomach growled and her mouth felt dry.

She'd been here for what she could guesstimate as three weeks and not once had she been fed or hydrated. Of course the only logical reasoning behind such a feet was that he was keeping her nourished with chakra, an obvious sign was that though she'd lost weight she wasn't losing weight at a rapidly debilitating rate. She'd read about it once in one of her medic books for patients that were having issues with feeding tubes or were conscious but not able to eat or drink. This whole thing didn't mean she wasn't able to fantasize about how delicious his food looked.

"Want a bite?" He asked without even looking at her but holding his chopsticks full of food in her direction. She turned away and pretended to find something far more interesting on the opposite side of the room. The clacking of his utensils let her know he'd gone back to what he was doing beforehand.

Releasing a small sigh Sakura leaned her head back against the boards and closed her eyes for a moment. She still couldn't believe she was in this situation. To say she was scared would be a lie, she knew that Kabuto's plan was not to murder her but to use her. He wouldn't have put in this much effort to kidnap and attempt to persuade her to join him to just up and off her at a moments notice.

"Do you want to look at this for me?"

Sakura rolled her head forward to give Kabuto a bored look. She wondered how many times this man would get rejected before he finally accepted the answer. He caught her look and held up a small journal and wagged it in the air. "If you're such an amazing researcher you should be able to do it yourself."

"I should, but I'm having problems with this one part," he said eyeing the page before standing up and making his way towards her.

"Go away Kabuto..." Sakura sighed, essentially reaffirming that she wasn't going to help him.

"I've tried very hard to be as nice as possible for the last couple weeks Ms. Haruno, but my patience is growing very thin." It didn't take a genius to hear the underlying threat and malice on his tongue as he turned back to his work table. Deja vu sprang at her the moment she noticed him reach for the jar of pink liquid and another syringe.

"I figure by the time we finish up the rest of this, you won't be coherent enough to tell the difference between what is and isn't reality." Kabuto murmured as he fondled the syringe in his hands.

"Your plan is stupid, how am I supposed to be helpful if I'm drooling and unable to even think for myself?"

"Ah, but you see I truly only need you for your expertise. And if I can control your mind then I can control all of you. It's just a slower process, because with this," he held up the syringe, "you'll still be capable of all the beautiful things you've been learning since you were a genin."

"I feel like this is flawed," Sakura replied bluntly.

"Well it's a good thing I didn't kidnap you to have feelings."

The pinch of the syringe piercing her skin made her clench her fist tightly as the drug slowly oozed through her slowly.

* * *

The room was eerily quiet when she heard someone plop into the chair in front of her, a defeated sigh pushing past his lips. Tsunade didn't look up to acknowledge him, instead she kept her eyes downcast to the large map that was spread out across the top of her desk. A large amount of notable red X's were placed glaringly across the map.

"Maybe she's being held in a more remote setting..."

Kakashi leaned forward placing his elbows on the edge of the desk and his chin in his hands, "Not so much in the bigger villages." He finished off her train of thought.

"We've sent carriers to every Kage in the other villages, even the smaller ones to keep an eye out for her. She's hard to miss after all. Has Karin completed the list of all of Orochimaru and Akatsuki's older hideouts?" She asked finally turning her honey eyes up.

He nodded his head, "Yeah, we've sent teams to investigate the ones she originally named and now she, Sasuke and Suigetsu are working on finalizing the list with what they can remember."

"I think we need everyone to work faster." Tsunade urged.

"Tsunade, you must stay calm. We're all worried about Sakura but freaking out or pressuring everyone else isn't going to find her faster."

"I know Kakashi, I know." She finally settled back on her heels and let out a deep sigh. It had been nearly two year since the Shinobi Alliance had completely disbanded and all respective shinobi returned to their villages. And while there had been the occasional stirring of rogue bandits and troublesome groups there had been no true threat of war or mass negative powers running amuck. The world itself had become peaceful. However it seemed in that peace they'd become stagnant in their security.

With only a smattering of missions being brought in Sakura had allotted a little more then three quarters of her time towards the hospital and research center. Eleven days ago with the moon high in the sky and amidst a binger that was starting to make Tsunade's vision swirl clockwise, Sasuke brought her the very sobering news that Sakura was missing.

They still hadn't found out who had been behind the abduction whether it was just one person, a small group or even a ploy from a larger village as an act of war. There had also be no signs of a trail or ransom note left behind or delivered. The trail was completely cold and yet Tsunade couldn't fathom stopping the tireless search parties.

Her train of thought was disrupted when she felt Kakashi's coaxing hand loop around her elbow, "There isn't much else you can do right now, how about we go relieve some stress?" Deciding it was best not to fret over the map and the situation she nodded defeatedly and followed after him.

* * *

"Neji, you're going to need to breath. It won't benefit Tenten at all if you've passed out on the floor from hyperventilating."

"She's been in there for hours!"

"Yes," Sakura replied calmly, eyeing down the magazine in her hands, "And these things take time."

There was a very long pause as if the Hyuga was contemplating all the scenarios in front of him. Finally he leapt to his feet and gestured towards the swinging hospital doors, "Will you at least go check on her for me?"

Sakura folded the magazine together and tossed it on the table before standing up and smoothing out her shirt. Nodding agreeably she wandered over to her lavender eyed friend and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. She'd never seen him so ruffled, not even the day of his wedding. Using a small amount of pressure she guided him to sit back in his seat and then turned a knowing eye to his cousin as Hinata sat supportively beside him, "I'll be back as fast as I can."

Turning she pushed through the double doors and walked at a collected pace down the hallway. Unlike the panicking Neji she was well aware of how this situation played out and her sprinting the hallway and busting into Tenten's hospital room would be one of the worst things she could do. So instead she paced it out, even checking one or two patient charts on the way. When at last she finally settled her hand on the doorknob she pressed her ear to it and listened closely, but all she could make out was whispers. It only took Sakura another second to realize the whispers were growing more and more frantic.

Before she was able to open the door it swung open so fast she nearly fell into the person standing on the other side. A frantic Shizune blinked in shock for a moment as if trying to recover her eyesight before realization dawned on her face, "Oh thank Kami! Sakura I was about to come get you!"

Sakura opened her mouth to question when she heard Tsunade barking orders from inside, "Sakura! Shizune! No time for talking!"

The medic mind Sakura had been equipped with immediately engaged as she rushed forward and took in the situation. Tenten who'd opted for a completely natural childbirth now sat cloaked in barriers and was midway through a cesarean section, her cloudy eyes let Sakura know that she was sedated more so then usual in a normal situation. Tsunade was elbows deep into the incision her eyes closed with concentration and the glow of her chakra emitting from where her hands were clutched.

"Get ready Sakura the baby is having complications! Shizune you need to get ready because I doubt the father of this child is going to stay in the waiting room when he notices Sakura won't be returning anytime soon!"

As if on cue or some unheard bidding Neji appeared in the doorway, one arm clutching the doorframe in an attempt to ground himself, his kekkai genkai alert and strained, "What the-"

"Neji!" Hinata called finally having caught her cousin and grabbing at his elbow. Ignoring the two cousins Sakura instinctively moved to stand beside Tsunade for when she was needed. Shizune flew in the opposite direction waving her hands in front of Neji, "Sir I'm sorry but you can't be in here right now!"

"No!" Neji barked back. Sakura knew his etiquette was only slipping because of his fear, she frowned but watched as Shizune essentially bullied him backwards and shut the door behind all three of them.

"Sakura, here!"

Spinning her attention back to the baby being cradled in Tsunade's bloody hands she reached forward, worry creasing her brow at how quiet the newborn was being. Transferring the baby to an awaiting gurney she settled the tiny body into place before a nurses hands came in with towels to clean her. Fishing through the drawer she discovered the bulb syringe and immediately went to clean out the babies airways but just as her hand lowered to her lips there was an emptiness in her hand. Stuttering, Sakura stupidly looked at her vacant palm.

"Sakura, update! Talk to me here," Tsunade barked mid healing.

"Uhm..." Sakura managed before looking back to the drawer and seeing the tool back where it had started. Without thinking she reached for it and grabbed again, seeing that it wasn't going to disappear she quickly starting clearing her up.

"Is she breathing?"

"No not yet, nurse grab the ventilator," Sakura ordered quietly.

She attempted a couple more times with the syringe before finally tossing it aside and glancing up to see where the nurse was, "Nurse?" she questioned. She gasped when she realized there was no one and nothing in front of her. She was staring at the blank blue walls of an unfurnished birthing room. She opened her mouth to say something but turned quickly to question her mentor.

When she whirled around however she was met with the exact same vision as before, a completely empty room. No Tsunade, no Tenten, not even the tools or countertops that were uniform in every room. Grabbing at where she knew the gurney was behind her she realized that was still there and there was still a baby not breathing in it. What greeted her however was not the body of a tiny baby but instead towels upon towels just soaked in blood. Her heart rate sped up as panic and confusion wracked through her nerves. "I don't get it..." She mumbled more to herself since no one else was here. Wrenching the towels off the gurney she tossed them aside before finally giving up that they were never going to end.

Somewhere deep in her mind she could hear the steady throbbing of a weak heart, and listened carefully as it grew more and more faint. She turned once more in her spot to get to the door but found she was facing just a wall. The rooms windows and doors had been removed. Running forward she placed her hands on the blue paint and confusedly palmed at it. The heart beat growing even quieter until finally there was deafening ring that sounds vaguely like a whistle and a heart rate machine flat lining, the noise itself made her naturally attempt to cover her ears. Dizziness wrung through her system and before she could grab for anything she felt her body falling as her world went black.

* * *

A loud frightened gasp emitted from between her lips, her eyes brightened with anxiety flew open as her body involuntarily attempt to curl forward into the fetal position. The shackles around her wrist for once were comforting in their truth that she was back in reality and out of that hallucination. In an attempt to gain control of herself she steadied her frantic breathing to deep breaths and closed her eyes to find a little solace in herself.

The clanging of something being dropped made her jump. Eyeing down the small shadowed figure across the room she noted that it was definitely not Kabuto and far to small to even be an adult. As her vision cleared from sleep and dismay she took in that she was indeed staring at a boy that couldn't have been anymore then twelve years old and he was staring right back at her in shock.

An itch in the back of her head made her realize this could be the only chance she got for any attempt at escaping this place. In the time that she'd been here she'd never seen him before and she knew if she didn't do something now it was very likely that she would never see him again. Setting a calmer and much more welcoming demeanor she offered the shivering boy a small smile, "Hi there," she whispered, "my name is Sakura."

The boy did not move a single muscle but Sakura could see he was on the brink of fleeing as his eyes crawled to the only opening in the cavern, worried he would attempt to make a break for it she hurried her idea along, "Um, what's your name?" His lack of reply made her bite her lip. "Have you been here long? Are you friends with the... um, doctor?"

Once again silence answered her back, she'd all but given up when she heard him mumble out a single word, "No."

Perking up she leaned forward, "No you're not friends with him?"

He responded with a shake of his head and a step towards her, "Mean."

"Yes very mean," Sakura agreed. "Can you come a little closer? What's your name?"

He seemed to be extremely worried about that idea but luck seemed to be on Sakura's side as he lumbered forward. It didn't take a genius to notice that there was something off about his gait but the tattered rag he was wearing over his body cloaked his whole body. When he finally stopped he was only a couple feet from her, staring expectantly with cloudy icy eyes, if Sakura hadn't seen the way he actually focused on things she would have thought him to be blind. The absolute smoothness of his head told her that he'd never grown a spec of hair, which then didn't surprise her when she realized that also meant he didn't have eyebrows either.

"Boy," he finally spoke up.

"Boy?" she questioned, confused.

He nodded his head and realization dawned on her that Kabuto must not call him by anything other then boy. Sadness pulled at her heart, Kabuto was mentally wiping this boy, he'd likely forgotten his real name thanks to the games and experiments the scientist liked to play with the brain. Biting her lip she sighed, "Can you undo these?" she motioned to her restrained hands.

He shook his head no.

"That's alright, they're tough ones." She offered but knew the buckled strap should have been easy for any youngster his age. "Do you leave here?"

He shrugged.

"Can you leave here?" She asked hopeful and again was answered with a shrug that didn't really offer her an answer.

Frustration not so much at the boy but for his situation crawled forward as she let out a small sigh, "You understand everything I'm saying right?"

He nodded.

The sound of footsteps echoing in the hallway outside this room made her heart speed up, her brain whirling forward. The little boy was becoming fidgety as well his body tensing to run. Sakura strained to lean forward a little more, a pleading look coming to her face, "Please, if you can actually understand me I need help," she whispered, "I'm from Konoha, the one with the leaves, go there and get the Hokage. She's very nice, beautiful blonde hair, her name is Tsunade." The foot steps were drawing closer and Sakura's eyes bounced between the doorway and the boy, "Tell her I need her help, let her know where we are, she'll save us. We can get you home, back to your parents!"

"Well, well, well..."

Sakura glanced up and met Kabuto's amused gaze, "Trying to send out a call for help?"

"No- I."

He interrupted her with a flick of his hand, in the corner of her eye she could see the boy starting to cower. "No need to apologize dear Sakura-chan, after all it's pointless to bribe him with that petty stuff."

"Every young boy needs their parents," she bit back acidly.

"True," he wandered closer, "but this boy is an experiment. A chimera of sorts... blind and dumb, an utter failure."

Kabuto grabbed an empty glass from his work table on the way towards her and examined it closely, a thoughtful expression crawling across his features. Worried about the boy's safety she struggled against the manacles but they didn't even give an inch.

Kabuto came up beside the young boy and reach down to tilt his chin upwards so they were staring each other in the eye. He then continued to pat him in an animalistic manner on top of his head, similar to how she saw Kiba praise Akamaru, except a lot less love. The boy seemed to calm down a little bit likely thinking this was some form of praise.

A beat of silence hung over all three of them before Sakura saw Kabuto's features morph from sick amusement into a twisted sort of rage. His lip curled in disgust and the muscles in his right arm seemed to tense up as he lifted the glass high above his head before slamming it against the side of his bald head.

"No!" Sakura screamed as his little body was flung a couple feet away, blood pouring down his face, his little hands grasping at the shards of glass likely embedded in his face. He struggled back to his feet a strangled noise emitting from between his lips before he finally ran from the room.

Sakura watched the doorway even after he disappeared, her mouth hanging open completely speechless. Gaining a small modicum of sense she clapped her jaw back together and turned to glare harshly at Kabuto but before she could allow the full effect of her hate to wash over him she felt his fist connect with her temple. Her neck immediately snapped to the right as she coughed out a strangled noise, without chakra to heal herself she knew that it wouldn't be long before the eye darkened to an ugly shade of black.

"Next time you try to plot against me, I'll sever your leg," he snarled and turned quickly back to the table, the deja vu scene of him filling a syringe sobering her from the pain she felt. "No worries on the boy however, his stupidity allows him the luxury of not feeling. He won't be in pain from his wound. He also will not feel pity for your hopeless situation."

The feeling of his fingers wrapping around her chin made her want to vomit, the thought was lost though when he yanked her head back around so she was looking him in the eye, "No more funny business, I'm sick of your attitude." He plunged the syringe deep into its usual spot and Sakura bit down on her tongue so hard it bled.

The not so gentle pat he gave her cheek left a sting as he tossed the syringe somewhere behind her and turned with a dramatic whirl, "Pleasure to be doing business with you soon Sakura-chan! For now though I must find that disobedient fool." He sang jauntily, the cruel expression and demeanor that had just plagued his being practically nonexistent as her vision swirled into darkness once more.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Happy Thanksgiving to you all, here is a chapter for all my gratitude to you guys. (:


	3. Miscalculation

**Illusory**  
Chapter3: Miscalculation  
_D.A. Nico_

"Happy Birthday dear Inooooo, happy birthday to youuuu!"

Sakura raised the sake glass she was holding in Ino's direction as a large chorus of cheers echoed through the air. She watched as Ino bent forward, one hand holding her long blonde hair back to blow out the twenty candles adorning a large sheet cake placed on the center of the table. After the last candle's flame disappeared another course of cheers lit up the area as Ino stood straight again and smiled at the family and friends around her. Using her hands she motioned for the crowd to quiet down so she could make a small speech.

"I'd like to thank everyone for coming out tonight, it means so much to me and I was definitely surprised. Sakura, thanks a lot for making me think everyone had forgot. I can always count on you Forehead." Sakura smiled as she met her friends eyes over the crowd. "And mommy, I'm sure without you this entire thing wouldn't be nearly as beautiful or as perfectly organized as it is."

Ino's mother stepped forward and hugged her daughter tightly, the obvious resemblance between to two women's facial features was striking. Even though Ino had her father's coloring her beauty came from her mother, "My dear Ino, I'm so proud of you and I know that your father is as well." She said sweetly, her hand caressing her daughter's face lovingly, "And to everyone else, thank you so much for keeping this a secret. Now, how about we enjoy the rest of the party?"

"Cheers!" Naruto could be heard screaming from the middle of the crowd who soon followed. From behind all the cheering Sakura could see the special look that Ino and her mother shared one more time. She knew that Inoichi's death was still an open wound for the two of them but she also knew they were both very strong women and they were both heavily supporting each other.

She felt a gentle bump at her shoulder and turned to see Sasuke smirking down at her, his glass of sake held out towards hers. She eyed it down for a second before clinking her own gently against it, "Come here often?" she asked playfully.

"Only when my girlfriend let's me out." He responded seriously.

Raising a delicate pink eyebrow she quirked her head to the left, "Oh is that so?"

Instead of answering verbally she saw the shift in his body as he leaned forward, his lips only inches from hers when suddenly Ino's calling could be heard from close by.

She heard Sasuke audibly sigh, frustrated before he glared up at Ino. Her strong minded friend took note of what she'd interrupted before smiling wickedly, "Maybe another time Sasuke, for right now my birthday wish is that you give me Sakura so I can have a best friend moment." She cooed as she wrapped her arm around Sakura's neck.

Sakura saw a look of deliberation cross Sasuke's attractively dark gaze before he seemed to admit to himself that there would be no winning this battle. Instead he nodded his head, "Happy Birthday Ino," he offered before turning to stalk off towards a group of guys huddled together.

"See you at the bar for the more adult festivities!" Ino called back simply before diverting all of her attention.

"Are you alright?" Sakura cut in quickly before Ino could go on a rave about something.

Ino seemed to take a second before she realized that Sakura had been talking about the memory of her father. However the mourning look in her eyes was erased very quickly by her stone cold resolve as she nodded her head, "Of course I am, my father lived a noble man and died a hero." Ino said simply. Sakura knew she lived more along the motto of celebrating her father's life instead of mourning his death. Deciding it was in everyone's best interest this evening she quickly dropped the subject with an agreeable nod.

"Anyways Forehead, I wanted to thank you again personally for making me think everyone forgot." She feigned heartbreak.

Sakura laughed out loud and sipped at her glass, "It was all your mother's idea."

"And she's a brilliant woman," Ino mused simply. "By the way, what happened to your eye?"

"My eye?" Sakura asked immediately, her free hand lifting to touch her face. She flinched the moment she felt the tenderness. "I... I don't..."

"Maybe going a little crazy on the training Sakura? We'll cover it with a little more make-up before we go out tonight." Ino offered simply before patting Sakura's shoulder and walking off to announce that the boy's needed to eat cake before they moved on to phase two of the birthday.

Sakura watched after her friend for another moment before she lifted her hand again to her face, the slow throbbing of a fresh bruise suddenly seemed so clear as her mind raced for exactly why she had a very likely black eye but nothing immediate jumped to her mind. Her thought process was cut short when Ino returned quickly with a make-up compact in her hands, "Come on you klutz, let's go powder your nose while they're demolishing the cake. All the attention is supposed to be on me, not you." She added teasingly before grabbing her arm and shuttling her off to another room.

* * *

"What on earth are you doing on the floor?"

Only one of Tsunade's eyes popped open as she looked up towards Shizune, whose arms were laden painfully with a stack of papers that looked more formidable then any human opponent she had ever faced. "I'm playing with Tonton." She answered in a matter of fact sort of way. Tonton who had been sitting peacefully by her grunted upon hearing her name and then settled back down when she felt Tsunade's hand scratch at her butt.

"You're hungover aren't you?" Shizune deadpanned.

"No..."

"Then you're still drunk?"

Tsunade sighed very loudly as if the question itself was to hard to answer. She knew it didn't hide the fact that Shizune was right, and far to intelligent for her own good. She was grateful when she heard her long time assistant take the paper stack over to her desk.

"Well, I'm going to need you to be the best functioning drunk you've ever been and work through this stuff. It's been piling up in my office."

"Shizune, I'm working on something right now." Tsunade gestured towards the map on her desk.

"And finding Sakura is the most important thing to me as well, but you're the Hokage and that means you've got a lot of other responsibilities that you simply can't ignore." Shizune offered calmly.

Tsunade knew that Shizune had put off her nagging ways for as long as possible and that she wouldn't be bothering her unless it was for something dire, so she chose to opt against whining and remain quiet as she attempted to get her world to stop spinning.

Suddenly, the door to her office was nearly ripped apart from the violent entrance of three shinobi and a young boy. Tonton squealed in surprise and shot from Tsunade's side to underneath a far table where she usually chose to observe strangers from afar.

"Can I help you?" Shizune questioned the people first.

"We... uh... need to talk to Tsunade immediately. Is she alright?"

Tsunade instantly recognized the voice of Mitarashi Anko, trusted friend and shinobi. A furrow came to her brow as she rolled forward to a sitting position and turned to eye down the group in front of her. She recognized the other two shinobi as lower ranking and younger members of Anko's posse but no one noteworthy. The young bald boy cowering at their feet was what really interested her. Staring calmly she gestured towards him, "Abductions now Anko?"

"Be serious Hokage-sama." Anko offered back.

Tsunade stared her in the eye before finally standing up, if Anko was using such a formality it meant this was the furthest thing from a social visit. "What's going on?"

Instead of answering her directly she nudged the boy's shoulder gently, "Can you tell her what you tried to tell us?"

The boy stepped forward a small sigh loosening from his sternum. Tsunade saw him bite his lip, and glance in every direction but at her. A clear sign that authoritative figures made him uneasy. It was on the tip of her tongue to coax him into speaking when she saw his eyes lock on something behind her. Scampering unsteadily forward he skimmed passed her before arriving at her book shelf, one finger pointing up.

Tsunade cocked her head curiously before making her way over. There was numerous objects on the shelving unit so she pointed at the stack of books, he shook his head, next she pointed at a beautiful ornament that had been gifted to her a couple years back, he motioned for her to move her hand down. Finally she gestured to a picture frame and he shook his head vigorously. Picking it up she handed it down to him and he didn't even hesitate and pointing at one of the two people in the picture.

The picture itself was taken a couple months back during a small festival here in Konoha. It was a simple photo of her and Sakura smiling cheekily at the camera holding up drinks and candy in what Tsunade could only guess was complete inebriated happiness. Sakura had framed it and gifted it to her the next day and now the little boy was tapping the glass on Sakura's face.

"That's my friend Sakura..." Tsunade offered.

The boy stopped all his movements as he stared at her as if willing her to understand. His mouth open once, twice before closing and confusion marring his features as if he had suddenly become tongued tied.

Tsunade glanced back at Anko, "What does he want Anko, I don't have time for this."

Anko was instead staring pensively at the boy, "He came flying into the gates of Konoha like a bat out of hell and when we asked what was wrong all he said was 'save us' and 'Hokage'."

"Yeah but-" she was interrupted from replying when she felt the boy grab insistently at the hem of her pants

"Save us," he muttered again before pointing at Sakura and literally shoving the photograph at her.

Everything clicked so fast for Tsunade that she couldn't believe it had taken her even this long to realize what the boy was telling them. Dropping to her knees she grabbed the boy by his shoulder, which may have been a mistake by the way he shirked away from her. Deciding not to let him go she dragged him a bit closer, "Do you know where she is?" she asked desperately.

The boy turned his face away, eyes clenched closed, tremors vibrating through his body.

She released him, panicking that he'd shut down on her and instead grabbed the picture frame and held it up, "Do you know where Sakura is?"

There were a couple beats before he finally came to and nodded his head towards her.

Tsunade smiled hopefully and glanced at Shizune and then Anko, "Where is she?" He didn't verbally responded, "Will you show some friends of mine where she is?" He glanced around at everyone separately in the room before finally nodding his head.

Tsunade jumped to her feet so fast she knew it likely startled him but decided to ignore him and quickly barked out some orders, "Shizune, take care of him and give him something to eat and drink. Anko, go get Sasuke, Naruto and Shikamaru immediately."

Anko nodded her head and turned to whisper commands to her teammates before all three disappeared from the Hokage's office.

* * *

"One! Two! Three!" Ino screamed from the bar top, her shot glass raised to the smaller group of people that had chosen to come out to the after party. In response everyone around her raised their glasses before tapping them on a nearby surface and shooting whatever liquor was in them.

Sakura couldn't help making a small face as the alcohol burned its way all the way down her throat. She heard Naruto clearing his throat loudly and he slammed the glass upside down and reached for his other drink in an attempt to chase the taste down. Once chugging a good mouthful he let out a celebratory whooping noise before settling back down into his seat, "That makes seven for me!" Naruto challenged the people around him.

Kiba immediately responded, "Keep up loser I'm one ahead of you!" His eyes already glassed over as he leaned a little to far to the right in the chair he was sitting in.

"What?! We are only counting shots, not drinks!" Naruto jumped up.

Choji guffawed from a couple feet over where he was huddled up with Shikamaru and Shino, "That's all he drinks!"

Kiba seemed to take that as a compliment on his being and crossed his arms, a cocky grin pulling at the side of his mouth.

Sakura rolled her eyes and turned away from the boys to face Hinata who sat patiently quiet beside Naruto. She'd figured out long ago that Hinata was just as quiet sober as she was drunk and the only clue that gave her away was the cherry red flush across her cheeks, "Feeling alright Hinata?"

The heiress turned away from where she was watching the boys with an overt amount of amusement and nodded her head, "Do you think Ino is?"

Sakura looked over her shoulder to where Ino was still traipsing across the bar, this time with an entire bottle in her hand as she poured drinks into the mouth's of her friends and strangers alike, "I think this is going to be a successful birthday!" Sakura turned back to Hinata with a knowing smile.

"Sakura! Hinata! Come here!" Ino called as if she'd known the girls were talking about her.

"Looks like we are being summoned," Sakura joked as she went to get up. Turning to Sasuke beside her who had been mostly quiet with just a few snide comments to whatever the boy's were jabbering about she asked quickly, "Do you want anything?"

Sasuke shook his head, "Good luck," he beckoned simply. It wasn't a secret how crazy Ino could get while inebriated.

Laughing at the serious tone in his voice she quickly headed towards the birthday girl who was staring down at Tenten who in turn was trying to beckon her off the bar. Sidling up next to the bar she offered Ino her hand, "Will you come down here so we don't have to yell at you?"

Ino pouted for a second before giving in to her best friend and reaching for her hand. Ino placed her other one on the bar and gracefully jumped down to the stone ground, how she didn't break her ankle in her heeled shoes was beyond Sakura's fathoming.

"I wanted to take a girls shot! To celebrate my birthday, but to celebrate all of us!" Ino murmured out as she swayed towards Sakura.

Catching her quickly by the shoulders Sakura giggled and nodded her head. Likely already having been warned the bartender slid four pink shots in their direction and waved off the tab saying something about how it was on the house. Sakura grabbed at them and handed them out to the three other girls and held it up in between them.

"Here's to Ino's birthday, may you have many more. And to our friendship, may we be doing this when we are old and boring!" Sakura smiled.

"Old and beautiful!" Ino corrected before clinking her glass and shooting the drink quickly.

Sakura rolled her eyes and brought the glass to her lips when she suddenly felt a sharp and painful sting against the back of her neck. Her automatic reaction was to slap at it with her hand, the way she would if it were a bee, but when she drug her hand back there was no evidence of a squashed bug. She reached back to rub at the spot once more wondering what it could have been when Ino noticed her drink was still full.

"Hello slow poke!"

Sakura jumped before chugging the drink quickly and setting it on the bar. The questioning look in Tenten's eyes let Sakura know that she'd seen her reaction but instead of answering she turned quickly and headed towards the bathroom.

Once inside she walked to the mirror and craned her neck dragging her fingers along the spot where she'd felt the terrible pain but there wasn't even a mark. The skin wasn't inflamed nor was there even a red splotch where it might have been irritated. Even the initial pain had subsided to absolutely nothing.

Deciding to return to the party before anybody came and questioned her sudden disappearance she wandered back over to where the group was and sat back down beside Sasuke, Hinata had taken her seat across the way and Ino had somehow found her way into Kiba's lap. Shaking her head she turned to Naruto, "What did I miss?"

Naruto didn't react like he'd heard her but instead Sasuke turned around and grabbed at her hand so tightly it made her pull away shooting him a confused look, "I need your help."

Wide eyed she shook her head a bit confused, "Of course Sasuke, what do you need?"

"Heal this," he said simply and grabbed at her hand again and placed it against his right side just below his rib cage. Pulling her hand back once again she looked down to see the red coating her hand. It took her a beat to realize that it was Sasuke's blood and it was a lot of it. Uncharacteristically she freaked out and stood quickly, her chair flying backwards from the force. "What happened?" She asked, the flood of healing chakra engulfing her hand.

His lack of response made her glance up from what she was doing in fear that he'd passed out but instead he was just staring at her, "Sasuke?" She asked but he only blinked. Turning to look across the table both Naruto and Hinata were looking down the table at the antics not even aware of the blood seeping out of Sasuke's side.

"Sakura," Sasuke's voice pierced through her as he hunched a little bit. Putting her clean hand to her head she looked between him and everyone else before deciding to heal now and ask questions later. Powering the chakra back into her hands she placed them against his sides and made quick work of patching up his side, it wasn't pretty but it would hold until she got him to the hospital. Standing up straight she felt a wave of dizziness and exhaustion run through her, the same feeling she would get if she ever depleted all her chakra stores, which was impossible for that simple healing.

The world around her started to blur in and out before it went completely black for only a second. When she came back to Kabuto's pale and sweat covered face was the first thing she saw. She could feel her expression morph into a hateful glare. Shifting quickly she found that her right hand was free of its clasp.

Complete and utter surprise paralyzed her body for only a moment before she reacted. Reaching for her other hand she tried to rip at the clasp before she felt Kabuto jump forward lethargically and grasp at her free hand forcing it back beside her.

"Get off me!" Sakura screamed at him, overwhelmed with frustration as he managed to secure her back to her locked up position.

Letting out a defeated sigh she closed her eyes and knocked her head back releasing a frustrated noise.

"Thank you for the assistance Sakura-chan..."

His voice sounded different, strained as if he were in pain. Opening her eyes she took in his ragged look a little more closely and noticed his hand clasping harshly at his side, blood covering his shirt. She perked up a little bit, "I hurt you?" she asked hopeful that something happened while she'd been in his illusions.

"No- no... you healed me." He offered back with a triumphant smile.

Sakura's mouth fell open for a moment before she clapped it back together, "I don't have chakra, there's no way I could have healed you." she shot back in denial.

"I gave you an enhancer that spurred some of your chakra to return at an accelerated rate." He coughed out.

Sakura shook her head about to say something else when she heard a noise much further away. Perking up at the obvious fact that it sounded like people, multiple people walking around.

"Shit," Kabuto cursed before stumbling backwards, he was obviously battered and bruised elsewhere but that wound would have been fatal if left alone. His sweating wasn't only from pain but exhaustion, it didn't take much else for her realize he had been fighting someone and that someone was in the cave's right now.

The thought that these people could be here for her or at least could free her made her call out, "Help! Please! I'm in here!" she called loudly.

"Shut up!" Kabuto hissed angrily as he scrambled around his work station. She watched him stutter with the syringe in his hand, they could both hear whoever was outside closing in and Kabuto abandoned whatever idea he had and wobbled towards the cave opening and took off to the left without even a backwards glance to her.

Her mind blanked for a moment, her heart racing as she heard the pounding of feet closing in on the door way, "I'm here, in here! Help me, please!" Her voice broke as she strained her vocal chords to project as loud as they could. It felt like the longest minute of her life before someone finally appeared in the doorway.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Just wanted to explain and make it pretty simple. I promise that every memory/hallucination will eventually be cleared up for you at some point in the story. Know that every scene involving Kabuto is reality, and of course any scene that does not involve Sakura's POV.

Thank you to my few reviewers, I'm really hoping this story picks up a bit more interest!


	4. Rescued

**Illusory**  
Chapter 4: Rescued  
_D.A. Nico_

"Sakura!"

Visually she couldn't make out the bodies in the doorway at first, but there would never be a day in her life when she didn't recognize that voice. A flood of relief, excitement and empowering emotions that made her legs feel like jello ran through her entire body. A quick noise that was somewhere between a sigh and a breath of satisfaction flew from her mouth. Tears of happiness pricked at her eyes as she dropped her chin to her chest in a completely relieved manner.

"Naruto..." she finally managed to utter out before she felt a pair of rough hands clasp at her cheeks forcing her gaze back up. Her vision met a set of foreboding red eyes that may strike fear into his enemies but gave her comfort.

"Have you seen Kabuto?" Shikamaru questioned instantaneously, his mind noting that she was safe and that they were hunting someone, "he's hurt so he couldn't have gone far."

Sakura nodded her head, "He just went out that door, but to the left." She stuttered before continuing, "He's not hurt anymore." She whispered.

Shikamaru didn't acknowledge the second thing she said either because a question would waste time or because he didn't make sense of it. Instead he grabbed Sasuke's shoulder, "You're the fastest, let's go. Naruto get her down."

There was a stutter in the way Sasuke turned from her that only she would have noticed, but he finally gave in and quickly disappeared behind Shikamaru. A frown crawled over her features, Naruto's presence was the only thing that grounded her.

"Are you hurt Sakura-chan?" he asked quietly, quickly going to work at unclasping all of her limbs and neck. He unhooked the biggest from around her midsection and caught her as she fell forward. She could feel her legs revolting against the weight of her own body, it had been weeks since she'd used them last. Naruto didn't even question her lack of strength but instead shimmied her to his back, his hands clasping around her thighs as her arms went around his shoulders.

"I'm fine Naruto, I just haven't walked at all."

He nodded his head thoughtfully, "Let's get you out of here and back home."

As they made their way to the doorway she sat up a little straighter, "Wait Naruto, go over there." She pointed towards Kabuto's work station. Naruto complied to the order without question.

Stopping in front of the table she looked around before pointing at the biggest syringe she could see, "Take that and fill it all the way up with that pink stuff." She said gesturing to the nearly empty vial.

He turned his back and sat her on the edge of the table before quickly going to work as she had requested. Handing her the final product she eyed the tube in front of her before pulling the needle portion from the tip and applying a stopper so it didn't stick her accidentally on the travel home.

"Come on we've got to go." Naruto urged as he backed up to her and picked her back up before shuttling forward at a faster speed then before. Taking one last glance at the room Sakura looked forward and took in the area outside of her prison. Something she'd been imagining about since she'd been captured. The hallways were much longer then she had guessed and the depth of the entire cave was more extreme then she'd originally thought. However, their escape had only consisted of two or three turns before she found both her and Naruto standing on a ledge overlooking a large forest in the middle of the night.

"We're still in the fire country?" She questioned.

"Yeah, either he couldn't move you far or he didn't think we would look in our own backyard. I guess he was right since it took us so long." Naruto grumbled, the last part of his sentence falling with his voice.

Patting his shoulder in a comforting manner she shook her head even though she knew he couldn't see it, "I'm safe now, and not mortally wounded." She offered positively.

Naruto nodded in reply, his thoughts obviously occupied. Looking over his shoulders she took in the darkness ahead of her, and the realization that she'd finally been removed from that Hell hit her fast and hard. Straining to hold onto Naruto as tight as possible she dropped her forehead to his back and wept quietly.

Naruto, her proverbial brother patiently waited, silently respectful as she emotionally purged herself. When she finally righted herself and wiped at her face she took in a deep sigh and tilted her head up to the sky just as a breeze ran across the landscape. She knew Naruto's continued silence as he started to move forward was in consideration for her damaged ego and she couldn't be more thankful for him in that moment. She held tightly as he leapt down to the forest floor.

"Where are we meeting up with Sasuke and Shikamaru?" She whispered, trying to match her voice to their surroundings.

"We aren't. I was instructed to get you home safely. They'll catch up."

Sakura froze at Naruto's muttered response and tried to mentally will him to stop, "We can't leave them here with him... it's not safe!" She responded beginning to unintentionally flail.

She could feel Naruto's grip tighten as he tried to steady her, "Sakura, they'll be fine. Kabuto is weak, he's not going to best them. They'll be home right after us." He assured her.

As stubborn as a mule Sakura growled out against the plan and finally managed to push herself off his back landing with an ungraceful thump onto the grass below. Naruto turned and placed his hands on his hips as he stared at her with a lopsided grin, "Can we make some kind of deal?" He improvised.

"And what could that possibly be?"

"Well you're useless right now. No chakra, baby calf legs, exhaustion..." he pointed out, ticking her flaws off on his hand, "How about we slow our pace and make our way home, you can walk, get the feeling back into your legs?"

She knew that everything Naruto had just rattled off was true and even if she were able to find Sasuke, Shikamaru or Kabuto she'd be useless and a complete liability to the mission. Dejectedly she agreed to Naruto's terms and held her hand out. He pulled her to her feet, let her balance herself before letting her loop her arm through his and they unsteadily made their way forward. With each step, Sakura could feel the rush of blood and strength, muscle memory working wonders as she made her way forward through the trees.

* * *

About an hour after being rescued she heard two intentionally loud thumps on the forest floor behind her. By this point she'd managed to gain most of the control in her legs, they ached from the over exertion but at least she wasn't tripping over her feet every couple of yards. Both she and Naruto stopped and turned to stare at his teammates. Her keen eyes checked over their bodies but no signs of weakness or injury were present. After double checking Shikamaru she turned her attention back to Sasuke's face only to see him gracing her with just as much attention as they made their way towards them.

"Did you get him?" Naruto asked hopefully.

Before Sakura could hear Shikamaru's answer she was caught off guard when Sasuke enveloped her smaller frame and hugged her tightly to his chest. She blinked for a second before wrapping her own arms around his waist. She and Sasuke had been together officially for a couple months now, but he usually shied away from any public displays of affection. The fact that he was hugging her now, so intimately, in front of the other two boys spoke volumes.

Not willing to break the hug on her own accord she dug her nose a little deeper into his collar bone and breathed in the welcoming scent of him, rainstorms and lightning. Finally he released a deep sigh and pulled back, but not before pushing her hair back. She looked up in time to see his eyes narrow dangerously as he took in what she knew was her blackened eye from where Kabuto had struck her yesterday. He didn't need to question who did it.

She offered him a reassuring smile and grabbed at his hand to will him not to obsess over his murderous intentions. The other two boys who had politely wandered off came back over to continue the conversation.

"He must have slipped out the back somehow, he knows the corridors better then we do and we lost him not long after we found you," Shikamaru updated her quickly.

"Slimy bastard," Naruto snorted disgustedly before crossing his arms.

"Why are you moving so slow?" Sasuke questioned.

Naruto huffed out a small laugh before hitching his thumb in Sakura's direction, "You didn't honestly think she was going to let me drag her to far away did you?"

Sasuke glanced between the two and she heard Shikamaru mutter under his breath about how all women were troublesome. Sasuke obviously decided to take this situation into his own hands because he stepped in front of Sakura and gestured that she climb on his back.

Her ego nearly made her fight back before she finally came to the realization that the muscles in her thighs were literally shaking from over usage. Caving to his urging she leaned forward and allowed him to pick her up.

"Are we ready now? Everyone happy?" Shikamaru asked sarcastically, and with a glance around the group he turned and jumped into the trees, intentionally speeding up the pace as the others followed.

* * *

"Tsunade, she's turning blue!"

Shizune's distressed calls made the Hokage release her deadly grip on Sakura. Releasing a deep breath she sent a thankful look towards Shizune before smiling back to Tsunade, "I've missed you too."

"Missed me?! Sakura you weren't just gone on some sort of vacation. He abducted you, Kami only knows what he did to you! How can you be so calm about all of this?" She ranted as she paced the room once.

Sakura blinked at Tsunade, "Because I went through it..." She knew that her captivity with Kabuto could have been so much worse. The only physical abuse he'd ever dealt her was her obvious black eye, other then that it had all been a mental game and illusions. Something that all shinobi are trained for throughout their younger lives.

As if she were reading her mind, Tsunade raised her hand to the side of Sakura's face and she could feel the warm heat as her beloved sensei infused her chakra into the bruise. After another moment the older woman pulled back and looked pleased with the healing. Another second later she enveloped Sakura into another, less restricting hug which she returned.

"Tsunade-sama, maybe we can debrief everyone after a good night's sleep. It's nearly three-thirty in the morning," Shizune suggested.

Before the breasted woman could agree or disagree Sakura felt herself pull back and shake her head, "No, let's get this done with while it's all still fresh." She pushed. True that Sakura could likely give an accurate and detailed report of everything tomorrow but she'd prefer to do the verbal portion now and write the formal report tomorrow.

"Are you sure?" Tsunade asked her.

She nodded and Tsunade waved her hand to dismiss the three boy's who had rescued her. Predictably Naruto fought the command, and Sakura knew it was his need to watch over her and his curiosity to know what happened that made him so disobedient.

"They can stay Tsunade, I'll only have to repeat myself later if they don't." Sakura smirked knowingly.

Tsunade nodded her head, "But you keep your mouth's shut!" She snarled the warning before wandering around her desk and sitting down. While Sakura was getting comfortable in the arm chair across, she saw Shizune situate herself on the window seat in the corner of the room. Shikamaru joined her while Sasuke took a spot in the chair beside hers and Naruto plopped down on the floor giving Tonton the attention she almost immediately demanded.

"Right, well first off was it only Kabuto? Or was he allied with anyone else?" Tsunade started.

"As far as I know it was only Kabuto. He was the only person I ever... No there was a boy too, but he isn't dangerous. Wherever he is..." Sakura trailed off sadly, unsure.

"He's here Sakura... he's the reason we found you."

Sakura looked up in shock her mouth turning into a small smile. She'd been so afraid that Kabuto had been right and the little boy's fear of being reprimanded by Kabuto would win over his helping her. After all he didn't know her and he definitely didn't need to risk his life for a girl he'd never met. All she could do was nod understandingly back to Tsunade. Not tonight but soon she'd have to thank him personally.

"We can discuss him fully another time. Let's continue, did Kabuto say why he abducted you?"

Shaking her head slightly she thought over the answer, "He never mentioned a world dominating plot. He talked about how he needed my medical skills and knowledge about research and stuff."

"How was he hoping to accomplish that? Did he torture you?" Tsunade said seriously, her authoritative facade kept her features even. It was a different story for Sasuke and Naruto who both obviously stiffened and shifted under the questions weight.

"Not physically..." She initially answered and she could see Tsunade thinking over the possibilities. Reaching into her waist band she pulled out the full syringe, the pink liquid emitting sickeningly at her. Letting her fingers drag over the glass she finally set it down slowly onto her desk and sat back, "He injected me with this, everyday... maybe twice. It was hard to keep track of time in that cave."

She watched Tsunade stare at the syringe for a long time before she reached forward and examined it a little closer. She shook her head obviously at a loss for what the substance in front of her was, she turned in her chair and held it up for Shizune to see but the short haired apprentice simply shook her head no.

"What is it?" Naruto finally spoke up.

"I've never personally seen anything like it... Sakura?" Tsunade urged.

"It prompts unconsciousness at which point you dream... or have illusions." She said licking at her dry lips, "I don't know the exact qualities of it, he never mentioned what it was. The entire time he had a large cylinder of it and he said once he drained the whole thing I'd be his to use. What you're holding in your hand is the last of it."

She could see Tsunade's knuckles flex a little under the idea that she was holding something that could have permanently messed Sakura up. She never looked away though, and pushed for her to continue.

"Every time he injected me it took about five minutes to start working. I could never tell what was real and what wasn't. When he started the injections all the dreams seemed real, normal. However the last couple ones were always a bit off... something in it was always unrealistic. As if he was messing with them."

"Messing with them?"

Sakura took a deep breath, "Yeah, I was constantly turning him down. Refusing to help him. He'd said if he hurt me to bad I'd be useless so he was using the drug to essentially trick me into helping him." Biting her lip in a nervous fashion she looked down at her clasped hands, "And it worked..." She muttered, ashamed of admitting it.

Tsunade perked up and leaned forward a little, "Sakura, what do you mean it worked?"

At first out of shame she felt like she couldn't even answer Tsunade's question. The idea that she had healed their enemy, the man that had abducted her was revolting; whether it was her free will or not. Now that she was thinking back to the actual illusion that had tricked her, she realized that pinch she felt during the bar scene had been him somehow interfering, either giving more of the drug, boosting her chakra or his own chakra to manipulate it exactly how he needed.

"Before I was rescued, I was dreaming about Ino's birthday. Out of no where Sasuke told me he needed help," She paused for a moment and glanced beside her, Sasuke was staring back attentively. "I thought it was a bit odd because no one else around me was reacting, but I wasn't just going to let him... die." She could tell beneath the depth of his black gaze that he wanted to say something reassuring to her but Tsunade urged her to continue her story. Finally looking away she instead turned to Shikamaru who was watching carefully. She could see the realization come to him when back in the cave she'd told him Kabuto wasn't hurt anymore.

"So I started to heal the dream Sasuke and at some point either I woke up, or he woke me up to rub it in my face. Next thing I know I've healed Kabuto, he's escaping and they appear." Sakura mumble and looked away from everyone else and found interest in a piece of dirt under her fingernail.

"It's not like you did it on purpose..." Naruto suddenly piped up from the floor, "I mean you can't blame yourself. If you'd known it was him you would have never done that willingly."

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing Sakura," Tsunade cut her off, "Naruto's right, you can't blame yourself." Seeming to want to change the topic she continued forward, "Do you think it has lasting effects?" She asked gesturing to the syringe sitting ominously on her desk.

Sakura's only response was rolling her shoulders in a shrug.

The Hokage finally released a deep sigh of her own before sitting back into her chair. "Alright Sakura, I think we're done here for tonight. I'm going to lock up the syringe for safe keeping until we can take a look at it. Boys, how about you take her home?" She suggested.

Sakura stood from her seat with Naruto and Sasuke following suit. She wished a good night to everyone in the room before stepping through the doorway, a yawn escaping her lips and the idea of her bed heavy on her exhausted mind.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you for the reviews, I'm trying not to badger you guys for them but they really prompt me to write faster! :P  
Also! Phew the debriefing had to be written and rewritten because I couldn't get it write. Whatevs. Have a great evening loves!


	5. Disorientation

**Illusory  
**Chapter 5: Disorientation  
_D.A. Nico_

Clasping the handle to her shower she twisted it as far to the right as it could go. The water gurgled familiarly through the pipes before streaming from the shower head at a relaxing pressure. Closing the curtain while the water warmed up Sakura returned to the sink where she glanced at her reflection in the mirror.

The fingers on her left hand trailed delicately across the skin surrounding her eye noting that once again Tsunade had done an amazing job at healing her and the clean, healthy, pale skin was the only thing left to be found. Letting her hand trail a little further down she cupped her hand agains the bottom of her neck and though it wasn't bruised she could feel the tenderness of where the shackle had held her in place. Stripping her clothes as the heat in the bathroom rose she let her emerald eyes trail further down her body. The darkest of her bruises cuffed obviously around her wrists where she'd struggled the most, a lighter pair of markings also took homage on her ankles. The last notable bruising was along the right and left side of her torso where the body shackle had been pinching her uncomfortably the entire time. The remnants of her captivity a slow fading physical reminder.

As the mirror finally fogged up completely she turned and stepped into the shower, turning it down to a bearable burn. The water washed over skin and turned it a bright red against the heat. Tilting her head up into the stream she allowed every muscle fiber in her body to slowly relax, pulsing into a calmer state then she'd been in for weeks now. A strange sense of exhaustion crawled after and she felt herself slump against the tiles as her mind travelled.

All of her bruises would have to remain as they were until she gained even an ounce of her chakra back. Kabuto had never mentioned how he was removing her chakra and with her being unconscious for a good portion of the last couple weeks she could only guess. It could be anything from another injection to an object similar in properties to Samehada, neither of which she'd ever seen. However, the fact that in her last moments of captivity Kabuto claimed to have given her a chakra booster she was guessing that there wasn't any sort of block on her lines and after a good nights sleep she'd be feeling more herself.

Grabbing at the flowery scented bar of soap she started run it over her body and cringed away when she was particularly rough against the base of neck, the injection site. Deciding to avoid that particular area she went about vigorously scrubbing her skin raw of any grime or piece of dirt that she may have accumulated in her time there.

The familiar muffled sound of her apartment door opening and closing made her freeze instinctively, the bar of soap clenched so hard it gained finger grooves along its edges. The knowledge that Sasuke was in her apartment somewhere was the only thing that kept her from diving for the kunai hidden beneath her sink. She trusted that her boyfriend would never allow an enemy in. She decided with an educated guess that it was most likely Naruto. On the walk home from the Hokage tower he'd excused himself citing that he wanted to check in with Hinata, only after promising that he'd meet them back at her apartment in no time. She'd declined the offer and told him to rest but his thick head wouldn't accept her offer.

A genuine smile graced her lips as she rinsed the soap from her body and conditioner she'd lathered into her hair. If it hadn't been for them, her boys, she'd probably still be strapped to that table, forever a pawn to whatever scheme Kabuto was playing with. A sudden thought swirled through her, no, if it hadn't been for that boy, that chimera she'd still be there. She owed him her sanity and possibly even her life, in return she'd have to try and help him.

Shutting the water off, she quickly towel dried her hair before wrapping a second one around her body and making her way into her bedroom. The cool air conditioning made goose bumps pile up on her skin as she headed for her dresser, a noise on the bed made her jump back. Recognizing Sasuke standing up from her mattress with his hands up in mock surrender she let out a deep breath, "Sasuke..." She muttered past her shakiness.

"Are you sure you're alright Sakura?" He asked warily as he made his way towards her.

"Yes..." she mumbled, "I promise, I'm just still a little jumpy." She offered him honestly.

He was so close now that she could feel his breath across her sensitive skin. Her heart began to hammer so hard she was positive that he would be able to hear it in the silence of the room. The idea that she may have never been able to see Sasuke had crossed her mind once during a bought of negativity and it was an idea she forever loathed.

Before she could say anything more she watched him reach forward and grasp at one of her hands. His fingers trailed as lightly as possible across the bruise that surround her wrist. She made a feeble attempt to pull her appendage away before giving in and letting him continue his examination. His hand fluidly made its way up her arm across her shoulder, down to trace her clavicle and then back up to cup the base of her head.

Sasuke had always been described by her girlfriends as the tall, dark and silent type and Sakura could only admit how close to the truth they were. The physical aspect of their relationship had grown more and more since their official relationship but even now the smallest touches and ideas of familiar kisses made butterflies go crazy in her stomach.

Opening her mouth to say something Sasuke closed the distance between them and she felt his lips press against hers with a hot sort of need she'd never felt from him before. Without thinking and letting her body naturally move on its own she pressed herself against him not even thinking of the damp towel between them, her hands grasped tightly at his shoulders. Her reaction spurred him with confidence and she allowed for his tongue to slip through the barrier of her lips for only a moment before he found even more interest on the droplets of water still clustered along her neck. She felt a moan slip from her lips as his kisses seared a path from her ear to the base of her neck.

Somewhere in a flurry of movement she found herself backed into the wall beside her bathroom door, his hands trapping her on each side of her body as he pressed his torso into hers match for match. A sort of tension started to rise deep within her and she found herself shoving him back just enough to allow both of her hands to grasp at the bottom his shirt. He gave her couple of seconds to rip his shirt off before he reclaimed her lips, his breathing coming deeper and heavier as the lust between them built even more.

Sasuke was fingering the edge of where her towel was tied together when all of a sudden a loud banging on her bedroom door broke the air between them.

"Sakura, I heard the shower stop. Come on your Ramen is ready, it's going to get cold!" Naruto hollered naively through the door before she could hear him moving away.

She took a couple deep breathes to slow her heart down and calm the butterflies. Sasuke seemed to be taking his own sets of breathes as well before he leaned forward and placed his forehead against her shoulder, obvious frustration for his friend's interference coming off of him in waves. Deciding that the moment was gone he stood straight again and pushed her damp hair back, "Let's get some food in you." He said with a smile that made her melt.

He threw his shirt on and she watched him exit the room and couldn't help but curse Naruto's bad timing. Quickly changing into a tank top and some comfortable pajama shorts she combed her hair into something presentable and exited her unlit bedroom. This room of her apartment was probably the entire reason she'd decided to rent here in particular. The open floor plan allowed for the living room, dining area and kitchen to all be in the same vicinity, it was open and airy and as far from stuffy and closed off as she could get. A window across the room adjacent to the front door gave her a beautiful view of the corner of the hospital and the gardens that they took care of for patients recovery time.

Naruto had already made himself at home on one of her two matching cream couches, his eyes permanently glued to the quiet television playing in front of him and completely ignorant to what he'd just interrupted. The smell of noodles and herbs filled her apartment and she made her way to the other side of the room and spooned a pile of noodles into a bowl before returning to join them at the informal dinner.

"Sakura..."

"Yes Naruto?" She asked sweetly.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"Of course, why would you ask?"

"Well... you're a little flushed," he gestured to his own cheek area.

Realization that her blood still hadn't settled from her passionate moment with Sasuke she could feel a blush rise back up and opting to not even answer back she turned her attention back to the bowl in front of her. Out of her peripheral she could see Naruto confusedly looking at her before he turned a questioning look on Sasuke who instead was finding interest on whatever Naruto had chosen to watch. Sakura could only think it was her lucky day when Naruto willingly dropped the subject in lieu of eating his food instead.

Pushing the noodles around Sakura realized this would be her first meal since the abduction as well. She wasn't quite sure how this was going to work since recovery wasn't her specialty in the hospital but the telltale growl from her stomach gave her reassurance that her body knew what it wanted. Grasping at a small bite she swallowed it down slowly. All of a sudden it seemed like the hunger she'd been able to ignore the entire time suddenly slammed into her. In her opinion she couldn't shovel the noodles fast enough into her mouth.

"How much is left?" She asked after essentially licking the bowl clean. Naruto stared back with his mouth open, one piece of Ramen hanging from his lips as he looked at her with complete surprise.

"Um, there's more..." He offered.

Standing up quickly she made her way to the kitchen and was happy to see enough to fill another bowl where to the boy's amazement she returned to the couch and repeated the process. During her third attempt Sasuke stood as well, "Maybe you should stop there."

"Why?" She asked.

"When was the last time you ate?" Sasuke asked instead.

Furrowing her brow at him she answered, "Since before I was abducted..." She answered back.

"You're stomach isn't going to comfortably handle anymore. Let the Ramen settle and if you're still hungry later I'll get you something else." Sasuke said, she could see beneath the quiet words he was urging her to agree.

Some sort of animalistic need for nourishment and food almost made her disagree but she knew deep down that Sasuke was right and that anymore Ramen would most likely end in a stomach ache for the rest of the night. Naruto stood up suddenly and took her bowl before heading off to the kitchen and tossing them in the sink, "Sasuke's right Sakura, maybe you should go to bed and get some rest." He said. She watched as he made his way towards the coat closet near the front door and yank out a pillow and blanket that was mostly reserved for when Naruto decided to crash at her apartment.

"You're not going home?" She asked.

He offered her a big goofy grin before tossing his items onto the couch, "Hell no, I'm hanging out here to make sure you're going to be alright. We all know Sasuke isn't going to be that great at it."

Sasuke tossed a glare in his direction but the obvious playful stab at her boyfriend only made her smile. Bidding him a good night instead of fighting with him she made her way quickly to her bedroom. Crawling beneath the thick comforter she was positive that she passed out before her head even hit the pillow.

* * *

Visually everything was pitch black, but somehow her body knew where to go. She could hear her feet pounding against the rocky surface, lose pieces of gravel biting into her bare skin. The sweat dripping down her skin felt like acid lines across her skin and even when she attempted to swipe them away it did nothing to dull the sensation. Her breath was coming out in short labored bursts, the obvious signs of fatigue working its way through her body. It was only the fear of something unknown that kept her moving forward at such a break neck speed.

By some sort of instinct her body quickly veered to the left, but the absolute power behind her sprinting made her slide and slam haphazardly into a rough wall. Steading herself she jumped forward and built back up the same laborious pace. The time in which this continued seemed like hours before all of a sudden she skidded to a stop.

She felt her hands drift out to her sides, fingers splayed open as if she were afraid she would suddenly lose her balance. All was silent and she still couldn't see a thing when all of a sudden she could hear something or someone make a quick shuffling noise ahead of her. It sounded oddly similar to rats she heard scrambling around some dingy dungeons.

All was quiet again before the shuffling picked up again and whatever was in front of her was slowly making its way even closer to her. Instinctively she took one step backwards but knew that without being able to see she wouldn't be able to escape.

In a sudden burst of energy the noise in front of her seemed to beeline straight for her. All of the muscles in her body tensed as her hands shot in front of her to try and ward off whatever was coming at her.

The feeling of a body throwing itself at her made her lose her balance as she felt backwards her head cracked harshly against the ground. Somehow in the fall she'd managed to tuck her knees into her stomach and get them between her and her attacker. She didn't even hesitate in kicking out and flipping the body up and over her head.

Rolling on her stomach and then maneuvering into a crouched position she was once again met with the eery silence. This time she wasn't given any warning as the form speared her into the ground, the movement jolting her ribcage uncomfortably. She let out a grunt as her body rejected the impact.

Two masculine hands gripped her wrists as a bigger body straddled her hips and a pair of feet looped over her thighs and trapped her against the ground. Struggling to no avail she reared her head back and spit straight into the face of whoever was trying to contain her. Instead of jolting back in disgust she felt her wrist being transferred into one firm grasp.

All of a sudden in the darkness a pair of glasses seemed to illuminate. Big, round familiar glasses. Kabuto. Fear, anger and adrenaline coursed through her as she screamed out in frustration. Unable to move thanks to him pinning her she waited for some form of words to drip from his disgusting mouth. She could feel him shift to grab something and the second thing that became viewable in the blackness was a syringe full of glowing pink liquid.

Her eyes shot open as realization that this was the last of that terrible drug dawned on her. As if in slow motion the pink liquid dived down and the familiar bite of the needle entering her skin made her freeze. Somehow she could sense his finger moving to the plunger to inject the liquid once and for all. A sudden surge of adrenaline completely unrelated to chakra gave her a modicum of strength to rip her hands out of his tight grip. Without a second thought she clenched her hand into a fist and decked Kabuto as hard as she could in jaw.

"Sakura!"

Flying forward into a sitting position suddenly her vision was clear and light as she was staring at a portrait that often hung opposite her bed. Her breathing came rapidly as if she'd been running in real life and not her in her nightmare. Shaking herself she threw the blanket back and froze when she saw Naruto's wide eyed shocked expression in the door way.

Sasuke shifting on the floor made her bite her lip. He sat up and she could see him reaching up to wipe blood that was dripping out of his mouth. She blinked a couples time as realization dawned on her that she was the reason he was bruised and bloody on her floor. Panic seemed to sweep through as she backed away from the edge of her bed and put herself deep in the corner.

"Sakura..." Naruto repeated as he took a step in.

"Get out!" She screamed back. She knew this wasn't a dream, this was reality. But that nightmare had been so real. Real enough at least that she'd struck out at someone extremely dear to her heart.

Naruto stuttered and Sasuke stood up and faced her. She could see him about to say something before she pointed at the door, "Get out! Now!" She screamed desperately.

"Get Tsunade, now." She heard Sasuke snarl at Naruto as he ushered his friend out the door and closed it behind them.

She was left feeling even more lost and confused in her empty bedroom, but at least here and now she knew that it was real. The bruises on her wrists for once were a comforting reminder that she was back to reality. She needed to remember she was home now, she wasn't going to wake back up strapped to that wooden table, she was no longer in Kabuto's clutches. She was safe. So why, in this very moment, did she feeling like Kabuto was somehow winning?

* * *

**Author's Note: **Oh Naruto… Bad timing.  
Remember to review for me, please! (:


	6. Emi

**Illusory  
**Chapter 6: Emi  
_D.A. Nico_

Leisurely walking in the direction of the marketplace Sakura couldn't help but let her mind soar with the beautiful weather. It was midmorning, the sky was blue and the sun bright with a dappling of puffy white clouds floating about. The temperature sat on the border of hot and cold, one of those ideal days that lacked any form of humidity and signaled the first signs that they would be entering into winter in the coming months.

It had been one week since she'd been rescued, and it had been one week since she'd punched Sasuke in the face.

It had taken Tsunade nearly two hours after she'd initially showed up to convince Sakura that they were in real time and not an illusion. That what she'd experienced in the evening had simply been a nightmare and that there was no way that Kabuto could be messing with her. So after she'd profusely apologized to Sasuke for his current black eye, Tsunade had decided on an executive decision to send the two boys on a mission that would last the week.

Neither of the boys had been agreeable to Tsunade's orders at which point even Sakura started to disagree as well. In the end the Hokage won citing it would be best that the boy's weren't hovering over Sakura, she needed time to sort through everything without worrying that she was going to strike out at anyone subconsciously.

So in the end the boy's along with Shikamaru had been sent back out to where she'd spent captivity with express orders to comb the entire system. After gathering anything physically useful from the caves they were to continue with a large, detailed perimeter search to make sure that Kabuto wasn't hiding out in the area planning another attack to finish what he'd started.

With them being gone Sakura would openly admit that she'd been a little lonely, but as Tsunade had explained, it did give her the time she needed to recover from the idea that she'd hit her boyfriend.

Even though she'd disagreed Tsunade had ordered that Sakura take a week to herself. She'd expressively forbid Sakura from entering the hospital, training in the fields or even badgering Shizune about the cases that she'd adopted during Sakura's abduction. Much to Sakura's chagrin her sensei had also mentioned that even though she'd sent the pink solution to the laboratory they would not move any further into the incident until the one week mark.

After much nagging she'd finally succeeded in getting Tsunade to agree to meet this afternoon.

She knew however, until then she'd have to occupy her mind and body so she didn't sit at home and obsess over what had been found out already. What they possibly weren't telling her.

She could feel the anxiety. The tenseness to her muscles. The idea that she still somehow wasn't in control. That he was just out of her sensory perception, waiting for her guard to be down.

The sudden entry to the market and awareness of the growing crowd around her made her settle down a little and take a deep breath. It wouldn't do her or anyone else any good if she started freaking out in the middle of the rode.

Wandering through the rows and rows of kiosks she couldn't help but breathe in the succulent smell of sweet fruit and hardy fresh vegetables. Enjoyed the way her mouth watered at the candied treats brightly displayed near a gaggle of smaller children rioting quietly for a free sample. Her bright green eyes turned towards the homemade trinkets and was about to lean in to admire a piece when she heard her name called pleasantly across the crowd.

Standing back up straight she eyed the crowd curiously before she caught sight of a hand waving for her attention. She followed the length of the arm and was satisfied to see it connected to a very familiar face.

"Tenten!" She called back, waved and then left her position to wander over to where her friend was waiting, her left arm supporting a bag full of groceries. Upon further inspection she could see that the new mother wasn't without her baby. A sling was strung around her friend's torso where the small precious bundle could be seen bulging from her side, swaddled away from the hectic crowd.

The smile that crawled across her face disappeared as the revolting imagery of a bloody hospital crib oozed back into her imagination. For a long moment she seemed to stutter in her greeting to her friend and that didn't go unnoticed by the highly trained weapon specialist.

Tenten cocked her head curiously, "Sakura, is there something wrong?"

Shaking her head she nervously scratched at her temple and shoved a lock of hair behind her head. She couldn't actually see into the sling and the baby inside though most likely awake wasn't making a sound or even moving beneath the fabric. Deep down she feared there was something wrong and Tenten hadn't even noticed, she knew however that was stretching her anxiety a little far and she quickly tamped it down determined instead to clear up this bloody memory in her mind.

"Tenten, can I um- ask you a quesiton?" Sakura stuttered unsure.

"Of course," she offered sincerely as she set her bag on the corner of the kiosk she 'd been standing near.

"It may seem like I'm out of my mind, but just humor me ok?" She urged suddenly.

Her friend only smiled back, her lack of reaction reassuring Sakura that she wasn't going to be viewed as crazy.

"Was there any complications during your birth?"

Tenten's features seemed to morph into worried confusion, "No Sakura, everything went perfectly."

"And she," Sakura gestured to the baby, "She was fine?"

"Yes... Tsunade and Shizune did an amazing job. Followed my birthing plan to a T."

Sakura seemed to flinch for a second, "I didn't have to help with anything?" She pushed forward.

Tenten's laughing reply was unexpected, "Well I mean you helped, if keeping Neji from combusting is helping."

Sakura smiled back for her friend's sake as her mind whirled. According to Tenten she hadn't ever been in the delivery room, which means Kabuto's version of the memory started to twist the moment she'd decided to leave the delivery room to check on the expectant mother. This is also meant that there had never been an emergency C-section, she'd never had to try and trigger the babies breathing and she'd never been stuck in a entry-less room with a crib of blood. Relief seemed to flood through her and then suddenly she heard a light cooing come from the sling.

"Can I see her?" Sakura asked suddenly.

Tenten glowed proudly before reaching delicately into the fabric holder, "Come here sweet Emi, someone's here to see your beautiful face."

Sakura couldn't help but admire the love radiating between mother and child. Tenten nuzzled her daughter's cheek to her own before reaching out and placing the bundle into Sakura's waiting arms. Emi's bright lavender eyes stared up familiarly into Sakura's and as recognition cognitively worked its way through the baby her face seemed to light up as she squealed with delight.

An automatic response made her immediately smile back brightly at the baby. Just in the first year it was very obvious that the baby had inherited her father's coloring, even down the the opalescent eyes that lacked an obvious pupil. Her thick brown hair had been long enough this morning to be pulled into two separate short pigtails on top of her round head. And though she was no doubt Neji's daughter, Sakura could see Tenten's eyelashes and face shape, even the way she smiled mimicked her mother's exactly.

"Oh Tenten, I know I've said this before but she's so beautiful." Sakura complimented before switching to talk to the baby still enthralled in her arms, "Aren't you? Yes you are! The sweetest, most beautiful baby ever." She crooned excitedly. Emi replied immediately by kicking her legs out and grasping for Sakura's pink hair.

Managing to avoid the baby's grabbing hands she couldn't help but laugh at the look of frustration that crossed her face.

"Oh, Sakura I've sent out the invitations but I just wanted you to know her birthday party is coming up soon. You'll be able to make it right?" Tenten piped forward hopefully.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it!" She said and the finally after a quick kiss to the infant's cheek she handed her back to her friend.

As Tenten busied herself settling Emi back into the sling Sakura glanced down and froze at the sight of her blood covered hands. A loud gasp flew from her mouth as she wiped her hands against each other in panic. Strangely enough they didn't feel wet and the blood didn't move from its spot in any kind of way.

"Sakura?"

Shooting a frantic gaze at her friend she worried that Emi was in trouble but the only thing that was troubling was the worried looking Tenten was shooting her. And when she glanced back down her hand's were clean, no blood in sight.

"A bee!" She blurted in quick thought, "It was just a bee, I thought it was going to sting me." And she awkwardly laughed to try and lighten the mood.

She could tell by the suspicious look on the woman's face across from her that she didn't believe her sudden reaction was to an insect but smartly went with the excuse. After a couple more words the women finally bid each other a good bye with tight hugs and one more kiss to the babies cheek before Sakura watched them walk back to the Hyuga compound, grocery bag in hand.

* * *

Clasping the cold steel handle to the research center Sakura wrenched the door open so fast and so hard it flew into the wall behind her. She moved frantically forward into the lab that greeted her and was met with a view of a panicked Tsunade leaping from her stool and making her way over towards her. Sakura didn't have to say anything but Tsunade clasped her apprentice by her shoulders and stared into her eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Sakura let out a breath she was sure she'd been holding for five minutes, all the tightness leaving her body with that gust of air. Instead of verbally answering Tsunade she backed up a step and leaned heavily on the wall behind her, both of her hands shooting up to rub at her temples.

She was thankful when Tsunade was perceptive enough to give her a moment and she watched the blonde woman make her way back over towards the one lab table in use. Across from the Hokage a hooded figure stood leaning into a microscope her bursting into the room obviously having not bothered him in the slightest.

Sakura took another second to herself before she moved forward to a metal stool that had been set up on the end of the table and flopped down crudely.

This disturbance seemed to garner the man's attention and he finally turned his covered gaze towards her.

"I'm sorry Shino, I didn't mean to distract you." Sakura offered quickly.

Instead of answering her he turned back to the telescope and resumed looking at whatever was so interesting. She could feel Tsunade's expectant gaze burrowing into her skull.

"I don't get it Tsunade, it's been a week. I haven't been injected with this crap. Am I just going crazy?" She blurted out.

Tsunade rested her chin in her cupped hand, "Why not explain what you're talking about. I'm guessing this doesn't have to do with you decking your boyfriend?"

Sakura glared at Tsunade's attempt at a joke and instead of reprimanding her for poor timing she instead moved forward. "It's hard to explain briefly but I'll try. One of the illusions I had under the drug's influence was of Emi's birth. In this illusion there had been complications and you had brought me into the jump start her breathing."

"But-" Tsunade went to correct her but Sakura's hand quieted her down.

"I saw Tenten at the market this morning with Emi and she was gracious enough to answer any questions I had about her birth. Of course I ended up holding her but when I returned her to Tenten I looked back down and my hands were soaked in blood." She paused for a moment and saw that even now Shino had glanced back up and was watching her attentively, "I guess my reaction had worried Tenten and after looking up and then back down the blood was just gone. Like it had never been there... like I had imagined it."

"Post traumatic illusions," Shino mumbled as his gaze returned to the scope.

"That's not even a real problem..." Tsunade bluntly grumbled out.

"But it is an accurate description," Shino countered back quickly.

The Hokage's eye twitched but Sakura could see when she backed down that she didn't think it was worth a fight right now and she might not be willing to admit that Shino was right, in a way.

"We've been examining all the properties to this solution over the last couple of days. It's an extremely reactant solution to blood and multiplies and attacks blood cells within minutes of exposure. We've also managed to separate the product into three distinct ingredients, two of which we know the third we're still trying to figure out. Whatever it is it's rare, and definitely doesn't exist in the fire country."

Sakura listened carefully but shrugged helplessly, "That's nice and all but how does that help my insanity?"

"You aren't insane Sakura. The two ingredients we've identified don't have lasting effects past two days but we aren't sure of the third. For now though we need your corporation to finish off the last of the testing."

"Of course," Sakura agreed and sat up a little straighter.

"With your permission, Shino is going to release a microscopic bug into your blood system for ten minutes. When it's done with its search it'll return information back to Shino and then we will go from there." Tsunade explained.

Shino made his way abruptly around the table and grasped Sakura's forearm brashly.

"Um, er, how is it going to get in?" Sakura mumbled as she pulled against Shino's grip.

"Burrow," was the bug shinobi's only reply and Sakura watched in a twisted fascination as minuscule black dot seemed to appear from Shino's finger. Sakura knew it was all mental but she felt like she could feel the bug's little feet tread across her skin and then a strange digging sensation as he disappeared into a thick vein in her forearm. After Shino was positive the bug had disappeared he backed off and returned to his side of the table.

"Now what?" Sakura asked as she shifted uncomfortably.

"We have to wait for him to finish," Tsunade gestured in her direction before grabbing the microscope and pushed it across the table top and in front of her. "Take a look while you're waiting."

Sakura obediently placed her eyes to the piece of equipment and adjusted the viewer to her liking and settled down to watch the product in action. The pink liquid up close and on this level seemed to float around the slide in a languid and unbothered fashion. Here and in this moment it was slow, docile and Sakura didn't feel the sickening knot of fear for it.

"Now watch," She heard Tsunade's voice from above and one drop of red, blood, was introduced to the slide. There was a moment where the pink seemed to move around the blood, and then suddenly it willingly enclosed as she watched as it mixed its way further into the blood mutating into one substance.

Sakura felt bile rise into her throat and shoved the scope away quickly. Standing up so aggressively it sent the stool flying backwards into the work station behind her. Sakura counted the seven steps she took towards the door before she turned completely around and returned to her stool where she righted it and then paced back towards the door she'd originally come through.

"Come back and breathe Sakura, you needed to see that. And we need to finish our research," Tsunade ordered.

Sakura froze and took a moment were she found interest in the periodic table in front of her. She let her gaze trace through many of the compounds, completely useless to her situation, attempting to fill her mind with anything but the raging compound behind her. Deciding to not let this effect her this badly anymore she turned and once more returned to her seat.

"Better?" Tsunade questioned, the microscope had been moved far across the table.

"Yes," Sakura mumbled, "How much longer do we have?"

"Four minutes and twenty six seconds," Shino answered exactly.

* * *

**Author's Note:** What a doo-doo chapter. lol. I wanted to give you something for Christmas, so here's a chapter. Feel free to review for a gift back.

Also! If anyone knows of or is a good beta reader I'm in search! (PM or Comment in Review) It would also be awesome if this person liked big projects and didn't mind throwing their own input around!


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